breed Library > Rabbit > English Spot

Description

Rabbits have been popularly kept as pets in Western nations since the 1800s. Rabbits can adjust well to indoor life, and can even be litter box trained. Like all pets, rabbits need a considerable amount of care and attention.

The English Spot is an old breed suspected to have origins similar to that of the Checkered Giant, including Flemish Giants and some kind of spotted wild rabbit. English Spots have been bred in England since the 1880s, and the first English Spots imported to America were from England. This breed is mostly white, with coloring on the nose, ears, and around the eyes, and chains of colored spots along its sides including a black stripe down its spine.

The English Spot is a very active breed because of its high arch and needs at least 2 hours of running time each day. On the show table they are supposed to run on the table to demonstrate their full-arch type (this is true for all full-arch breeds except the Britannia Petite). English Spot's make good pets because they are generally quite docile, but like most rabbits, they do have a few ‘mad March hare moments’! They will happily tolerate other pets included Guinea Pigs and familiarize themselves with domestic cats.

More recently, breeders in the UK have been able to cross the English Spot with smaller rabbit breeds. It has been quite a slow process, although the latest families of offspring are showing muted-grey markings of the English Spot including the spine stripe, eye patches, and nose patch. Currently, this ‘scaled down’ version of the English Spot is not recognized by professional bodies, but is recognized amongst some breeders as the 'Mini English'. The Netherland Dwarf, however can be shown in in the UK in any recognized colour for any breed so there are a few dedicated breeders who can be seen with English marked Netherland Dwarves.

Proportions

Weight: 5-8 lb. ARBA-accepted varieties: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Gold, Gray, Lilac, Tortoise. The natural lifetime of a well-cared for domestic rabbit kept indoors is 6-10 years.

Background

For thousands of years, the wild European rabbit was hunted and used for meat by humans living in Europe. The domestication of the species did not begin until the time of the Roman Empire. Selective breeding of rabbits began in the Middle Ages, when they were first treated as domesticated farm animals. By the 1500s, several new breeds of different colours and sizes were being recorded. As the domestication process continued, rabbit behavior changed as the animals became more docile and easier to handle. In the 1800s, as animal fancy in general began to emerge, rabbit fanciers began to attend rabbit shows in Western Europe and the United States. Breeds were created and modified for the purpose of exhibition, not exclusively as food, fur, or wool animals. Because of this, some breeds were created that had little purpose outside of exhibition. The rabbit's emergence as a household pet began during the Victorian era.

Personality

Pet rabbits can be trained to urinate and defecate in a litter box or on a newspaper in a specific corner of a room. The litter box may also be placed inside the rabbit's cage or the rabbit can be trained to treat the cage itself as the litter box. Litter training becomes much easier once a rabbit is spayed or neutered. Rabbits can be taught to follow voice commands like a dog, but they can also be trained to recognize different patterns of the voice. For instance, if a rabbit is disobeying, for example biting, making a high pitched, or extremely bass noise will convey the message. Rabbits can be taught their names, although they recognize the pattern of the noises more than the words. Rabbits are intelligent and enjoy games and toys. It is possible to permit a rabbit to run loose in the home if rooms have been rabbit-proofed (i.e. dangerous chewable items such as electric cords are removed from the rabbit's reach). Rabbits have a tendency to chew on items in their space, particularly wires, although some can be encouraged not to chew dangerous or valuable items by offering alternatives such as sticks of unpainted wood. Rabbits will play and throw around objects. Pet rabbits are often provided toys for their entertainment. It is preferred to keep rabbits caged individually. However, it is becoming common to spay and neuter pet rabbits allowing male and female rabbits to live together.

Things to Note

Rabbits are often considered to be a children's pet. However, many experts know that rabbits make poor pets for young children. Children may be careless in picking up the rabbit or physically unable to provide the support the rabbit requires when carried. Because they are ground-dwelling prey animals, most rabbits do not enjoy being picked up and held as some cats and dogs do. Rabbits have very strong back legs that can kick hard; this may hurt the rabbit or cause it to be dropped, possibly resulting in injury to the rabbit or the child. Rabbits are quiet animals that can be fearful of sudden movements and noise. Children may be noisy or chase the animal. As with any pet, parents must take full responsibility for the daily care of any rabbit adopted as a pet for a child.